1 August, Chandigarh: Today, the Punjab and Haryana High Court scheduled a hearing for August 28 to consider a case that Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh submitted.
Regarding the validity of the preventive detention order, the high court already demanded a new response from the state and the Union of India since “counsel for the petitioner(s) has chosen to challenge the same despite the period of detention having been over.”
Amritpal Singh claimed in his plea, which was presented before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal, that his NSA custody was unlawful and should thus be overturned. “An unusual and cruel manner by not only invoking the preventive detention Act for more than a year, but also by detaining him away from the State of Punjab” was how his right to life and liberty had been utterly violated.
He said, “It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to punish the petitioner for exercising a democratic right guaranteed by this country—that is, the right to speak out against the state and the Central government on significant political issues.”
“Most of the reasons for detention stem from posts made on social media by various users worldwide, which hardly affect the state and may not even be a threat to the safety of the Indian state.”
“With respect to the security of India under the provisions of the NSA, only the Central Government or the state government could issue the same,” he continued, adding that the Amritsar District Magistrate was not authorized to issue any orders.